


I love you(r coffee)

by UnicornBooklion



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, i guess, or fluffy, things will probably get sappy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:55:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26517061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnicornBooklion/pseuds/UnicornBooklion
Summary: That stupid woman that always works at Catra's café is kinda cute... well, very cute. Maybe she can get a lesson or two from her.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 52





	1. Chapter 1

There is nothing a waitress despises more than a customer. Ask anyone who has ever worked a customer service job and they will tell you that people are the worst: they complain endlessly about all the things you cannot control, try to get you fired because your smile wasn't wide enough, and most of them wouldn't thank you if their lives depended on it. Even the nice ones aren't worth it, because how could one decent moment outweigh thousands of bad ones?

This was the mentality Catra went into work with every single day: get the job done, get the money (which wasn't that good anyways), and go home to her movies and loneliness. Sometimes she felt like she might be destined for something else, something more fulfilling, but she couldn't really imagine herself leaving her little town and the comfort of her routine. She had thought of joining some night classes at the local college, but getting in was inconveniently hard and there wasn't really a purpose to it, so the idea always ended in her mental reject bin. 

The morning started as usual, with professors and students alike picking up their to go orders (the café was very close to the campus, perfectly positioned for most of the people who had business there), many of which she remembered because they had been the same for years. Some moments were busier and others were quieter, but she did her tasks, mainly maintenance for the coffee machines and making sure the sitting area was nice and clean. Just when her lunch break was about to start, a tall, blonde woman with a briefcase, a business suit, and contrasting unkempt hair ran into the shop. Catra thought she might work for one of the development companies that had recently taken interest into the town. "Hey, could I get a big black coffee with two shots of espresso?"  
"Sure, what's your name?"  
"Adora"  
That was an unusual name for an unusual order, Catra thought as she charged the woman and then readied the beverage. She handed it to Adora and turned to grab a sugar package in case she wanted one, but the woman was already bolting back through the door and into the street. "So much for politeness", Catra muttered to herself as she grabbed her lunch pack, closed the door and sat down to enjoy her delicious swiss turkey sandwich.

* * *

Adora couldn't believe that she was about to be late for her first final. Ms Brightmoon (three years had passed since she'd joined the college, and she still thought that was an extremely weird surname for a teacher) wasn't extremely strict, but she had made it clear from the beginning that students were expected to be professional and always on time, plus what would her classmates think? Class president Adora, golden girl, late to a final. It was that stupid barista's fault, her face was so cute...

Of course, Adora _had_ overslept. That could only be blamed on herself, no one else. It was the first time it had happened, and in such an inconvenient day... Still, she was human, there was no way around that, and it was just a mistake. Stopping for coffee had ben a good idea, though, falling asleep during the exam would do her no good. She ended up chugging the coffee right before entering the examination hall as the teacher started handing out the question papers, which was sort of fortunate as it prevented her from getting that much attention. Despite this, she did her best to find a place and put her things down quietly.

The exam went well, but Adora couldn't shake the feeling that something was off with her day, besides the obvious oversleeping screwup. She looked and felt terrible, but afternoon classes wouldn't give her time to go home and freshen up. A few hours later, a terribly tired Adora got home and jumped straight into the bathtub, decided to never let the day's mistakes happen again.


	2. Chapter 2

Adora walked towards the café where she had stopped for coffee the previous week. She remembered the beverage having the perfect balance of caffeine and flavor, better than any she had ever had at home (honestly, her coffee-making skills were terrible, even when using a machine and capsules from the supermarket), so she wanted to try it again, maybe even figure out how they did it. Walking into the store, she picked a seat with a full view of the room while trying to find the barista who had served her last time, which was another part of the reason she was back at the café: later that night she had realized that her feeling of unease came from the disastrous lack of manners she'd displayed, so she had made it her mission to apologize and maybe treat the cute girl to a drink. 

The barista from her previous visit was nowhere to be seen, and the one who took her order this time seemed appalled at her choice of drink. Adora picked up the cup, sat down in her little corner, opened her laptop and began to work on an essay for her Environmental Economics class. The course wasn't particularly challenging, but the workload sometimes stressed her out, so she tried to stay ahead as much as possible. 

As Adora focused on her writing, many people came and went from the café, but none of them were who she was waiting for. Just when she was getting ready to leave, the doorbell rang and the cute girl entered, already wearing the uniform's apron. Adora struggled to read her name tag from a few meters away, but she managed to make out the word Catra, which seemed like a weird name, but her own wasn't exactly usual either, so she didn't think much about it. She got up and approached her, but the barista quickly walked through the employees only door and, was that a look of distaste in her face? When she got out and into the serving area, Adora got in line to grab a new coffee, hoping for another chance to talk with her, but she had no luck as it was the other worker who took her order, so she picked up her things and left. She ended up going back to the café several times that week (it was actually a really nice place to study, which gave her the perfect excuse), but the barista seemed to be avoiding her, what a ridiculous thought really, and she got no chance to talk to her.

* * *

Catra spent the whole week avoiding "Adora" (which she still thought was a strange name), and it was starting to take a toll on her feet, who would've thought constantly moving around could be so tiring? She knew that it would be her job to serve her eventually, but she had disliked her much more than other customers so she was trying to postpone the encounter as much as possible. 

It finally happened on Saturday. Right after Catra's shift started Adora showed up, set up in her usual spot, and got in line. "Hello, what can I get for you?"  
"Just a black coffee, please"  
"And what's your name?"  
"Hmm, yeah, about that, I'm not sure if you remember, but my name's Adora? I'm the idiot who didn't say please or thank you for anything last week, sorry about that"  
"Yeah, sure, no worries", said Catra, when there were, in fact, worries. This (terribly cute) businesswoman had come into her town to do gods knew what damage, and she thought being cute and saying sorry would compensate for it? Catra mused on her thoughts as she readied the beverage, and was surprised when she turned to find Adora staring right at her "I'm sorry, did you need anything else?"  
"Oh, yeah, no, thanks, I just got distracted for a second, though... would you like to grab coffee together sometime?"  
"I'm sorry? You do realize that's like terribly inappropriate, right? What with me being at work and us being strangers..."  
"Oh gosh, I didn't mean for it to come across that way, I'm so sorry. Never mind", said Adora as she grabbed her coffee and seemed to shrink into her usual corner of the shop. That day she left unusually early (not that Catra had been tracking it) and seemed almost disappointed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! Thanks for staying tuned and I hope you enjoyed this new chapter! I'm sorry for being a couple of days late, but my classes started this week so I decided to move update day to Saturdays so that I could manage my schedule better. 
> 
> Ridiculous bit of trivia: Catra's feet hurt because she wears vans instead of more comfortable shoes for the ✨aesthetic✨


	3. Chapter 3

Going into the Fright Café had become a regular habit for Adora: she went in, got her coffee, and sat there doing her homework or studying. Sometimes the cute barista was there, sometimes she wasn't, and that was fine with Adora, given the clear rejection she had received. On the days the barista did show up for a shift, Adora did her best to stay out of the way, though sometimes tasks did require them to be closer than Catra would've liked, such as when she was wiping tables. 

One morning, while doing just that, Catra happened to catch a glimpse of a document in Adora's screen, with the words 'Simbiosis between economic gain and sustainability' written in big bold letters on the top.   
"I didn't know your lot cared about the environment"  
Adora's expression turned sour with confusion and a tinge of sadness "What do you mean, 'my lot'?"  
"Oh, you must surely know what I mean. All your company cares about is building and making money, nature's health has never been an issue for them"  
"I mean... yeah, the college does have a big interest in making money, but nature? We don't harm it in any way. Heck, I'm even in an environment related major!", Adora's face made Catra realize she had made a mistake, one she didn't know how to correct.  
"Did you just say college? As in studying? Not as in development company?"  
"Hm... yeah, duh. Why would you think I have anything to do with land development? Do I look like an adult to you?", Adora had never felt so insulted. An adult! Sure, she liked to dress smart, but she was young! She was down with the kids!  
"Well, yeah, no offense, but you literally dress the same as those guys in Hordak's Dream Homes. Also I gotta go serve the people that just came in, so see you later, I guess", was Catra's escape elegant? Absolutely not. Was it still a decent escape? Absolutely yes. The barista welcomed the chance to get away from Adora. 

Gosh, what a disastrous encounter. She hadn't really liked the girl to begin with, but now she'd fucked up any chance of a good work relationship they might have had. She didn't know what had compelled her into speaking to begin with, she would usually never talk to a client like that. Was it Adora's infuriating good looks (because Catra had to admit that the suits did flatter her)? It had probably been the bitterness about all the gentrification and destruction of natural spaces that the town had suffered in the last few years. But she had been wrong about that too, how could she have made such a stupid mistake? Catra herself was the perfect example of why one shouldn't judge others by their looks, and yet she had done it. Assuming Adora was one of those soulless office workers, armed with toothy smiles and big excel spreads, had been completely wrong, and now she felt compelled to rectify that mistake.

* * *

Adora continued working on her notes when Catra left her, but she couldn't really concentrate any more. Something about the barista's presence made her feel weird, but their chat had been the epitome of awkward. Why had Catra thought her one of those developers, and why was she so hellbent on hating them? Was that the reason she had rejected Adora when she asked her out? How she wished she had answers, because as much as she wanted to, she couldn't get Catra out of her mind. Against her better judgement, she passed by the barista on her way out of the café, and heard a soft "sorry", which made her stop and turn to look at Catra.   
"Sorry?"  
"Yes, sorry for the way I talked to you. It was inappropriate."  
"It's fine", said Adora, already walking out of the door and trying to hide her blush. On her way home she kept pondering if she should even bother going back to the café and if the coffee's quality was worth it, because it was clear that things would just get more and more uncomfortable at that point, and she didn't want anyone suffering for some stupid caffeine. Well, suffering was maybe a little too dramatic, but she didn't need to make the barista's job less enjoyable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you for staying tuned, kind readers! I'm quite liking how this story is coming out, so I hope you're all liking it too!
> 
> Ridiculous bit of trivia: there is a Welcome to Night Vale reference hidden in this chapter

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! This story came to me at 1 am while I was pondering the meaning of existence because sleep eluded me, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! The plan is to update it weekly, if there's interest? As always, feedback is highly appreciated. 
> 
> Ridiculous bit of trivia: Catra's sandwich is swiss turkey because it's the only sandwich I can name in English.


End file.
